500 thousand citizens unemployed in Kazakhstan

The number of unemployed Kazakhstan citizens made 500.2 thousand people in February 2012 and the unemployment level made 5.5 percent, Tengrinews.kz reports citing Kazakhstan Statistics Agency.

"57.6 people (excluding those included into Employment Program-2020) have been registered with the employment authorities of Kazakhstan Ministry of Labor and Social Protection at the end of February 2012. The share of registered unemployed made 0.6 percent of the economically active population (0.6 percent in February 2011)," the Agency's message states. The level of hidden unemployment made 0.5 percent of the economically active population.

According to the Agency, the number of employed citizens made 8.6 million people. The number of people working as hired employees made 5.8 million people.